


Of Mutants and Weirdness

by FrankieQuinn13



Series: Leo-Overs [25]
Category: Lab Rats (TV 2012), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Online Relationship, Protective Behavior, Secret Identity, online game, slight bestiality, slight stalking, they're mutant turtles so..
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2018-06-25
Packaged: 2019-05-28 14:40:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15051368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrankieQuinn13/pseuds/FrankieQuinn13
Summary: Leo starts playing an online game that he’s become addicted to. One day he while playing he hears a voice on the other side if his com set and makes a new friend. Friendship turns into a crush and Leo really wants to meet his online friend but he won’t meet for some reason, until the day that Marcus first tries to kill him that is.





	Of Mutants and Weirdness

**Author's Note:**

> Apologies spelling grammar and OOCness
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Lab Rats or any of its characters or any part of the TMNT franchise

_‘This is stupid. This is stupid. This is so stupid!’_

Leo mentally cursed as he walked down the empty street, resisting the urge to jump when he heard something bang loudly against a trashcan just before a cat screeched out loudly somewhere in the distance. He passed a couple of homeless people about a block back huddling around a fire in a trashcan, there was graffiti on every other building that he passed and up until that point Leo hadn’t seen a single car pass him. He was in a really shady part of town, Leo had to give the cab driver at least thirty bucks for him to agree to go anywhere near that area and the man had gunned it the moment that the teen got out of his car.

In all honesty, Leo should have his head examined for going to down town Mission Creek but Leo didn’t really have much of a choice, or rather he did have a choice but it was a choice that Leo didn’t really want to make.

It started with a voice.

The voice on the other side of the head set.

Two months ago Leo started playing an online game. Adam, Bree and Chase were always off on missions, Big D still wouldn’t let him tag along on any of them and the last time he tried to sneak off on one his mom grounded him for a month. He was home alone and completely bored so he decided to go online and surf the web for a little while. That’s when he saw the ad for an online game.

Mutant Underworld.

You’d play as a human poisoned by radioactive waste and stuck in the mutant underworld. The aim of the game was to build an army to take over the underworld and eventually find a cure, all while fighting against other mutants and keeping human authorities at bay. You get points when you find more radioactive waste to advance the progression of the mutation, taking down stronger mutants, invading human facilities and bonus points for taking over other player’s territories.  It seemed pretty generic, like every other online game he’s seen before so he didn’t think that he’d spend more than half an hour on it before looking for something better to do but, it was oddly addictive.

Leo ended up spending hours on the game, sometimes when his siblings were out on missions, sometimes when they weren’t and about every time when he didn’t have to deal with Marcus and all his crazy. He’d stay up late on weekends and sometimes at school he’d sneak out to the library to play a little more. It was about three weeks later when he met Donnie for the first time.

He was right in the middle of a raiding an FBI facility when his base was suddenly attacked and raided. Leo was fuming when he realized that most of his weapons and supplies were taken. It took so much longer than he thought it would to find the other player and plan an attack on his base as well. Right before they attacked him again.

This game of tag went on for five days before Donnie finally contacted him.

_“You don’t know when to quit do you?”_

Leo was scared shitless at the voice that suddenly spoke through his headset and he almost fell right off his seat.

“What-… how-”

_“It’s nothing personal you know. Your base was unprotected. You were an easy target.”_

Leo blinked in surprise when he suddenly saw another character appear on his screen.

His own avatar was a human lion hybrid. A human body covered in fur, decked out in black leather and jeans with a lion head with its mane shaved into a Mohawk. The new guy’s avatar was a mutant turtle with a purple bandanna on its head and a bow staff strapped to its back. It looked pretty cool.

“Yeah well,” Leo said as he sat up a little more in his seat and adjusted his headset so the mic was raised up to his mouth, “I bet I’m not such an easy target now.”

He laughed, _“No, you’re not. How about a truce? I’ll stop attacking you if you stop attacking me.”_

“How do I know you won’t attack me the moment I let my guard down?” Leo asked while his hand hovered above the keyboard just one click away from entering the command to attack as he waited for the other to answer.

_“How about we join forces?”_

Leo paused, “So first you attack me and now you want us to join our bases?”

_“Like I said before, it was nothing personal and besides you’re one of the first people to actually leave any damage on one of my bases. I’m impressed.”_

“You should be.”

_The voice chuckled, “You cover me, I’ll cover you. So what do you say; partners?”_

Leo paused with his finger on the key ready to press fire but let out a sigh as he leaned back in his chair instead.

“Sure, partners.”

 _“Great,”_ And somehow Leo could hear the other smile over the headset, _“My name’s Donnie by the way.”_

“Leo.”

That’s how it started.

Leo stopped playing as often as he did since Donnie seemed like he was always so busy, but when he did play Leo had more fun than he’s had in a long while. Donnie was nice, smart and oddly sweet. Eventually they went from talking online to talking on the phone although, Donnie was always the one that called him and Leo could never call him back.

Leo isn’t sure how the other teen got his number and to be honest he was a little freaked out the first time that Donnie called. He knew that the other teen was good with computers, their late night conversations clued him in on that but the idea that Donnie hacked his way into finding his contact details made him feel just a little bit uneasy. Especially considering his family’s bionic secret. But that didn’t last long. It was hard being freaked out or even a little upset whenever he heard Donnie’s voice. It was just so-

Leo didn’t like thinking about why he liked Donnie’s voice, he just knew that he did. Donnie called a lot, mostly during the day. Leo would have to sneak out of classes or make an excuse with Adam, Bree and Chase during lunch so he could answer. Apparently Donnie was homeschooled which is why he had so much time during the day and at night Leo was lucky if he could even hear the other boy over the noise he’d always hear in the background.

 _“The city gets loud at night.”_ Was about all Donnie would say when Leo asked him about it.

Not that Leo had all that much time either, not with Marcus complicating everything with his evil evilness. It didn’t help that Adam, Bree and Chase still wouldn’t listen to him when he told them to stay away from the other teen. Between them and Marcus and Perry he was stressed out beyond belief. But talking to Donnie helped.

The older teen asked him about his family and school; Leo tried to say as little as possible for fear of slipping and telling his online friend about Adam, Bree and Chase’s bionics, but he said plenty about school with Trent and Perry taking up most of their conversations as Leo voiced his frustrations on the two before switching to complaining about Marcus. It got hard sometimes when Donnie asked Leo exactly why he thought the boy he went to school with was evil since Leo wasn’t really sure himself so he would usually just go with,

“Let’s just say he’s evil incarnate and leave it at that.”

When Leo asked Donnie about his life he wouldn’t really say much either. He said that he was adopted and lived in New York with his brothers and adoptive father. He liked to talk about his brothers a lot; Raph, Mikey and Leo-

“Leo?” Leo couldn’t help but grin as he flopped onto his bed with his phone pressed up against his ear, “That is an awesome name, by the way.” He paused when he heard Donnie laugh, “He sounds like a smart guy, brave, strong and incredibly handsome.”

Donnie chuckled although it sounded just the slightest bit awkward, _“Yeah, he’s some of those things.”_

“Oh so, just handsome then?”

 _“Well,”_ Donnie paused, _“I think he is.”_

And then suddenly a thought came to mind, “You know, I never asked you what you looked like.”

Another pause.

_“Does it matter?”_

“Well, no not really.” Leo shifted a bit on the bed, “But it’d be nice to at least have an idea of what the guy currently stalking me looks like.”

Donnie laughed, _“Stalking you?”_

“Yeah, although, I guess it isn’t stalking if you like it.” Leo said without thinking and instantly felt himself flush when the other just laughed again, “Besides we both know you probably hacked your way into finding out what I look like by now.”

_“Wait, so you’re saying you aren’t a half human half lion hybrid with leather pants?”_

“Quit stalling.”

 _“I-…”_ Donnie paused again, _“I guess, I look like my brothers.”_

Leo rolled his eyes as he turned over to lie on his back, “I’m going to need a little more than that. How tall are you?”

_“Around 6.2.”_

Leo paused, “Wow, you’re tall.”

Donnie chuckled, “ _Raph and Leo are even taller than I am, they’re built bigger too. Mikey’s only a little shorter than me, but we’re all pretty big. That’s mostly cause of our-… cause we work out.”_

“That must be some work out.” Leo said as he let out a deep breath.

_“Yeah, people find us a little intimidating sometimes.”_

“I get that, but I like tall, tall’s good.”

_“Short is good too.”_

Leo let out a sigh of frustration.

“You totally hacked my computer didn’t you?”

_“Two days after I attacked your base on MU.”_

Leo rolled his eyes again, “You’re such a jerk.”

_“And you’re a brat.”_

“Hey, you’re not that much older than I am so the brat insult doesn’t count.” Donnie laughed again and Leo sat up on his bed as he spoke, “You really know what I look like huh.”

_“I got curious.”_

“So what do you think?” Leo said putting just enough false self-confidence into his voice to make it sound convincing while his free hand picked at the bedspread beneath him, “Devastatingly handsome right? And before you ask, yes the looks do come with charm.”

Donnie chuckled, it was soft and warm. _“You look perfect.”_

Leo felt himself flush just the slightest bit before he fell back on his bed and gave a scoff, “You know you already have access to all my personal details. You don’t need to soften me up.”

_“That’s good to know, but I wasn’t trying to.”_

This went on for months with Donnie calling whenever he had time and Leo valiantly trying to deny the fact that he was developing a crush on a guy he’s never actually met, totally invaded his privacy by remotely hacking his computer and repeatedly refused to send a picture of himself regardless of how many times the younger teen asked. And Leo asked a lot.

“I just wanna see you.”

_“Leo-“_

“We can video chat.”

_“No.”_

“Okay, then how about we meet up?”

A long pause, _“You want to meet me.”_

“Yeah.”

_“You’re coming to New York?”_

“…Yeah.”

_“So your mom is bringing you?”_

Leo paused, “Well…. no but-“

_“You are not coming to New York on your own.”_

“Then you come to me, Mission Creek isn’t that far from New York is it?”

_“Leo.”_

“I really want to see you.”

Leo really wanted to see Donnie, he needed to see him. Seeing Donnie would make it all feel a little more real; it would make Leo feel better about the things that the other teen makes him feel.

 _“Why?”_ Donnie asked sounding frustrated and annoyed and Leo let out a soft breath, “Because, cause I… because you’re my friend and how unfair is it that you get to see me but I can’t see you?”

Donnie sighed, _“Leo, I’m sorry but, I just can’t.”_

“Why not?”

 _“Because,”_ There was another pause and Donnie seemed to lower his voice as he spoke, _“Because I’m, I’m not what you think I am.”_

Leo frowned, “What do you mean?”

_“Whatever it is that you think I am, I can guarantee that it isn’t the same.”_

“I don’t understand.”

_“Leo, you know those stories, right? About people that go online thinking that a person looks one way only for them to meet and realize that they don’t look anything like their pictures? It’s like that… only worse.”_

“Well it can’t be that much worse since I’ve never seen any of your pictures before.”

_“Leo-“_

“Donnie I like you,” Leo blurted out when he caught up with his words and he quickly spoke to catch himself, “You’re a really good friend. I just want to get to know you better.”

Donnie paused again, _“What if you don’t like what you see?”_

“I-“

“ _No, Leo I’m sorry but I can’t. I gotta go.”_

They didn’t talk for a week after that. Donnie never called and Leo was starting to feel guilty because of pressuring the other teen to let him see him. It didn’t help that Marcus was acting up again. Especially after Marcus ended up finding the lab when Adam, Bree and Chase went on their mission in space. It was a rough week and Leo wished that Donnie would call him just once or at least show up in Mutant Underworld so he could just hear his voice. The boy was convinced that if he heard Donnie’s voice then he’d feel alright.

But Donnie didn’t.

“Hello?”

_“What the hell did you do to our brother?!”_

His brothers did.

“Huh?” Leo asked in confusion as he sat up straight on his chair at his desk at the deep gravel voice that growled through the receiver.

 _“I said-”_ The voice was suddenly cut off and Leo could hear what sounded like a scuffle and hisses on the other side of the phone until another much brighter voice spoke.

 _“You’ll have to excuse him, he’s a little on edge or… a lot on edge.”_ There was more growling in the background before the voice spoke again, _“I’m Mikey, the vengeful mass of fury you just spoke to was my brother Raph and the growling brooding voice in the background is Leo. We’re Donnie’s brothers.”_

Leo’s eyes went wide and he immediately sat up a little more, his extremely urgent math homework now completely forgotten.

“You’re Donnie’s brothers?”

_“Yeah and we were just wondering who you were.”_

“I-…” The boy took a deep breath, “Leo.”

There was a pause, _“No, I meant what’s your name-“_

“It’s Leo, Leo Dooley.”

 _“What seriously? Your name is Leo?!”_ the voice asked incredulously before it broke out in a fit of giggles and there was more arguing in the background. Leo could hear more scuffling before a different voice suddenly spoke.

 _“His name doesn’t matter…”_ The new voice said and Leo could tell it wasn’t directed at him but the next words were.

_“How do you know Donnie?”_

“From M.U.”

_“M.U?”_

“Mutant Underworld.” Leo explained as he shifted in his seat a bit, “It’s an online virtual roleplaying game-“

_“If you met on the game then how did you get this number?”_

“What number?”

_“This number, the one I just called you from.”_

“I don’t have that number.”

_“You-“_

“Donnie’s the one that started calling me.” Leo interrupted before the voice on the other side could go off on him the way he could tell it wanted to, “I can’t call it back, trust me I’ve tried. He’s always the one that calls me.”

_“Why?”_

“Why?”

_“Why is he always calling you and what did you do to him?”_

“I didn’t do anything.” Leo said, bristling at the insinuation, “Donnie’s my friend. We play M.U. together and then he calls me sometimes and we just talk.”

_“Talk about what.”_

“Everything! I tell him about school or whatever and then…” Leo let out a heavy sigh, “I’m not forcing him to call me or anything-“

 _“You did something. He’s been weird for months now, ever since he started calling you and then a week ago he started acting off after he stopped calling you.”_ The voice dropped into a low warning tone, _“Now what did you do?”_

Leo almost froze when he remembered the last conversation he had with Donnie and he sank into his seat a little, “I didn’t-I mean-I didn’t mean to upset him, I just… Is he O.K?”

_“What did you do?”_

Leo took a deep breath, “I wanted, I want to see him so I asked him for a picture and he said no. And then I asked if we could video chat and he still said no and then I asked if we could meet but he kept saying no and I kept pushing… longer than I should have.” It became eerily silent on the other side of the phone and Leo immediately sat up. “Look I’m sorry-“

_“Why?”_

“Why what?”

_“Why do you want to meet him?”_

Leo paused for a brief moment, “He seems like a nice guy and-and I like him.”

_“You’ve never even met him.”_

“I know that, but-“

 _“But nothing.”_ The voice said with finality, _“He said no once that should be enough and you’re an idiot for wanting to meet with someone you met on the internet.”_

“But I-“

_“Do everyone a favor; leave Donnie alone, things are hard enough as it is.”_

The line went dead and Leo just stared at the wall above his desk.

It was the next morning when Donnie finally called him; apologizing profusely for his brothers before asking Leo what they said to him. Leo just told him that they were worried since he was behaving differently and,

“Maybe it’s better if you stop calling me for a while.”

 _“What-why?”_ Donnie let out a frustrate groan, _“If this is about my brothers then-“_

“No it’s not about your brothers.” Leo sighed. Or at least it isn’t just because of his brothers. “We only started talking cause of MU and I just have too much on my plate to keep playing right now. I’ve got school to deal with and Marcus is still a really big pain.”

 _“Oh, okay I understand.”_ Donnie’s voice dropped and Leo immediately started feeling like shit, _“I guess, we can talk some other time.”_

“Yeah sure, we’ll talk later.” Leo was about to turn his phone off when-

_“Leo?”_

“Yeah?”

_“About what we talked about last time, you know meeting up?”_

“Donnie you don’t-“

_“I want to meet you, I really really do but things are just really complicated and-“_

“It’s fine. I understand.” Leo paused with a sigh, “People have boundaries and this is yours. You said no once and that should’ve been enough. I don’t mind, I mean we can still talk right?”

Donnie paused as well, _“Just not right now?”_

Leo sank into his seat a little more, “Yeah, not right now.”

_“I’m gonna miss you.”_

Leo felt his face flush and his eyes sting but forced himself to scoff, “I’m not going anywhere. It’s just for a little while-“

_“I know just, be careful around Marcus.”_

Leo frowned, “Marcus?”

“Just promise me you’ll stay away from him.”

The line went dead and Leo just stared at his phone in confusion. It wasn’t till three weeks later that he figured out what Donnie was warning him against.

Adam, Bree and Chase snuck out to hang out with Marcus at the new Froyo opening at the mall. Leo had to go and get them back home before they all got in trouble. It all seemed so simple when he planned it out in his head. He’d go to the Froyo shop, get Adam, Bree and Chase back in the bionic car and get them all home before Big D figured out that they’d even left.

That’s not how things went down.

Leo ended up trapped in the bionic car while it went speeding to the ocean. Adam, Bree and Chase tried to get him out but they weren’t able to get very far. Leo was sure that he was done for after their plan to short circut the bionic car failed when Chase missed because the car suddenly swerved out of the way to avoid a pedestrian.

The car was quickly approaching the docks, Leo said his goodbyes and then suddenly there were two very large and very heavy thuds that hit the roof of the bionic car causing it to swerve in the middle of the road.

“What-”

 _‘Error! Error! Wait limit breached.’_ The electronic voice from the bionic car said and Leo looked up at the roof of the car incredulously as he spoke into his phone.

“Wait, are you guys on the roof?”

“The roof? The roof of what? Leo-”

Bree was cut off when the sun roof of the bionic car was suddenly ripped away and the car filled with rushing air while the bionic car started beeping in distress as the light illuminating the inside of the car went out. It went dark. Leo dropped his phone and looked up, squinting through the rushing air to see two dark figures on the roof.

“Oh my-”

“This is as slow as Donnie can get it, we need to get him out before we hit the water!”

Leo could just barely make out the voice that screamed over the noise in the car, but when he did he couldnt stop his eyes from going wide.

“Donnie?”

 Just then one of the figures leaned into the car and the boy’s eyes went even wider than before when he saw the bright gleam of a blade move right over him towards his chest.

“Ahhh!”

Leo screamed just before his seat belt was quickly cut away and another arm reached him, grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out of the car through the roof. Leo could barely make out what was going on. The force of the air rushing by on the roof of the car made it almost impossible for him to lift his head. Instead Leo buried his head in the chest of the figure that held him, hoping desperately that the arm wrapped tightly around his waist would maintain its hold. The figure that held him leaned down to speak loudly against his ear.

“Hold on tight and when I say take a deep breath.”

Leo could only nod his head, despite the desire to lift his head since that voice suddenly sounded so familiar.

“O.K... Now!”

Leo took in a deep breath just as another arm wrapped around him to join the other just before they hit the water. The force of the crash unfortunately still knocked the air out of him and he couldn’t help but gasp when another mouth suddenly covered his own to breathe in a gasp of air. Leo held onto the figure that held him until they broke through the surface. Ocean water still splashed around them. Leo had to wheeze and cough to expel the little bit that went into his air pipes.

“Don't let go.” The figure said and Leo just nodded again. Not like he has much of a choice.

They moved towards the shore onto the beach where he was carried onto the sand until the man collapsed with Leo still in his arms. He turned so the boy was on his chest as he sat flat on his ass and Leo coughed and wheezed a bit more.

“Are you O.K?”

“Y-yeah...” Leo rasped out as he tried to get his bearings, “About as O.K as I could be after a near death experience.”

The man chuckled, “I see why he likes you.”

Leo looked up only to frown since the man was wearing a cloak regardless of the fact that it was soaking wet, it was too dark to really see him anyway.

“Who are you?” The boy asked and the man tensed ever so slightly but spoke anyway.

“Leo.”

The boy frowned, “No, I meant-”

And then suddenly it hit him.

_‘This is as slow as Donnie can get it'_

Leo’s eyes went wide.

“L-Leo, you're Donnie's-” A shiver went down the teen’s spine at the chill that suddenly blew by them on the beach, Leo wrapped his arms around himself and started rubbing his arms to try and warm up. “This was the worst time of the year for big D’s car to malfunction.”

There was a moment of silence before he was suddenly grabbed and dragged over onto the other teen’s lap. The teen tensed as two strong arms wrapped around him and started rubbing at his sides. It was awkward but he quickly got the hint and took in a deep breath to try and relax in the other’s grasp.

“You’re-you’re one of Donnie’s brothers.”

“Yeah.”

Leo gave a snort as he shivered a bit more and tried to move closer to the other to find some kind of warmth, but apparently the other was just as Leo as he was.

“You’re b-bigger than I thought-I thought you’d be. Donnie said you were tall, b-but-”

“Did he tell you why?”

“He said-he said you w-w-work out.” The other gave a scoff and Leo tried to look up as he spoke again, repeating that same lame joke as before. “Must be some work out, h-huh?”

‘Leo’ didn’t laugh.

“Something like that.”

“Is-is he here?”

The taller man said nothing for a moment before he spoke, “You want to see him?”

“Y-yeah.”

God, why is it taking so long to warm up?

“Why?”

“Huh?”

“Why do you want to meet him so badly?”

“I t-told you, I l-like him.” The older man said nothing as Leo continued, “He's s-smart and... He makes me laugh. I like him a lot. M-maybe more than I should.” Leo admitted that last part quietly.

The other didn’t seem to notice, he only sighed, “You know, it’s not as simple as you two liking each other.”

“Why not?”

“Because-”

“If you care about someone, it shouldn’t matter.” Leo answered a bit mor evenly even if he still didn't feel any warmer than he was before, “So, is he here?”

The other didn't say anything and Leo only sighed in frustration.

“Fine, if you won't... If you won't let me meet him then will you give him a message from me?”

“What message?” The other man asked quietly and Leo took in one more deep breath as he moved in the other man' grasp. He tensed ever so slightly as the boy in his arms braced both hands on his broad shoulders and Leo was yet again taken back at just how big he was but pushed on anyway. He still couldn’t see “Leo’s” face. It was too dark and the wet cloak wasn’t making things any easier.

Pulling together all the courage he could muster, Leo leaned in and kissed the other on the closest approximation of where his cheek was and resisted the urge to freeze when he realised that he wasn’t too far off the mark as he kissed the other man’s... lips?

Shit.

‘Leo’ tensed considerably as Leo pulled back and looked away.

“Tell him, I miss talking to him.”

The taller teen said nothing and Leo started to squint to try and see through the darkness of the hood of his cloak only for a low beep to go off and ‘Leo’ suddenly looked away to start searching for something in his cloak. He pulled out what looked like a communicator in a gloved hand and held it up to his ear.

“Yeah.”

_“Leo's siblings are headed your way and they're moving in fast.”_

Leo could hear another voice speak and he gasped when it realised who it was.

“Donnie-”

“I'm on my way.” ‘Leo' said as he pulled back and stood up straight, setting the teen down on his feet. “You can talk to him later. Where are the others?”

_“Raph and Mikey already made it back.”_

“Good.”

‘Leo’ put the communicator away before he looked back down at the teen who was glaring at him and he seemed to sigh in frustration. “We’ll talk about you meeting him, alright?”

“F-fine.” Leo said as he rubbed his arms for warmth and watched as the other nodded and turned to leave the beach.

Adam, Bree and Chase found him a couple of minutes later. Donnie’s brother was long gone by then, Leo was surprised at the fact that he managed to move that fast. In fact, Leo couldn’t understand how on earth they managed to find out that he was in trouble; how they found him and how they managed to save him from the car crashing into the ocean. Leo’s first guess was that they were bionic, maybe one of big D’s competetors managed to get their hands on his technology and make their own bionic teenagers; it would certainly explain why Donnie was so adamant about them not meeting and exactly how they managed to save him. The only other theory he could think of was that Donnie and his brothers were superhuman ninjas or something, but that was farfetched even by his standards.

When Adam, Bree and Chase found him they were relieved to find out that he was safe but they couldn’t help but ask how Leo managed to survive the crash. Leo made up a story about the airbag saving him from the worst of the impact before he managed to escape through the sunroof after the car went over.

They bought it, Mr. Davenport was a little bit harder to convince. Big D was furious about what happened to the bionic car, Leo got the worst of it since the older man had asked him to look out for Adam, Bree and Chase. He tried to explain that it wasn't his fault but the older man wouldn't hear of it. Thankfully Adam, Bree and Chase came through for him and admitted that they snuck out and Leo had only been trying to help when he got stuck in the car and sent to the ocean. Adam, Bree and Chase got grounded and Leo got a slap on the wrist. Adam, Bree and Chase didn't take it too personally since Leo almost died and all.

They all got settled in for the night. Big D was on the phone, making arrangements to get the bionic car recovered. Adam, Bree and Chase were downstairs in the lab and Leo was upstairs making himself a snack. He was so distracted earlier he didn’t get the chance to eat before leaving the house. Plus he needed a new distraction since his run in with Donnie’s brother Leo was still whirling around his head. He needed time to think so he made up an excuse to get away from Adam, Bree and Chase for a little bit when he remembered how hungry he was.

The doorbell rang, Leo went to answer and found Marcus. Leo realised that Marcus sabotaged the bionic car to drive to the ocean and then Marcus used heat vision to stop him from telling Big D.

Marcus wasn’t just evil, he also had bionics.

It was then that Leo rememebered the last thing that Donnie said to him.

“Promise me you'll stay away from Marcus.”

And it all made sense, seriously though he shouldn't be all that surprised. Leo already knew that Donnie was hacking or rather _keeping an eye_ on him. Of course he'd try to get information on Marcus since Leo complained about him so often and refused to give details on exactly why the boy insisted that he was evil.

Suddenly he got it. When Adam, Bree and Chase came upstairs and Marcus wrapped an arm around him, Leo realized that he really really needed to talk to Donnie. But Donnie always called him, it was never the other way around. Plus his phone got ruined when they crashed in the water so it’s not like Donnie could call him again even if he knew how desperately the teen needed to talk to him.

Leo went up to his room after Marcus left and flopped down onto the bed with a groan of frustration when the lights suddenly went out. Considering everything else that’s happened to him Leo immediately got up from the bed and walked over to the electronic panel on the wall.

“Eddie, what’s going on?”

No response so he tapped it again.

“Big D?”

With a frown Leo left his room and to head down stairs only to let out a muffled scream when he was suddenly grabbed. There was a large hand going over his mouth and another around his waist. Leo struggled and tried to scream only for the figure that grabbed him to speak, whispering low against his ear.

“Hey, calm down. It’s just me.”

Leo’s eyes went wide and he immediately stopped struggling, but he didn’t stop talking. Or at least trying to.

“Keep it down, no one can know I’m here.”

Leo fell silent.

The hand on his mouth fell away and Leo immediately made to turn only for the arm around his waist to keep him still.

“Donnie, what-”

“Leo only gave me five minutes, the power will be back on in three. I just,” Donnie took in a deep breath, “I just wanted to make sure you were O.K.”

“I’m fine I... Wait why the heck didn’t you tell me that Marcus was bionic?”

“I-what?”

“And you probably already know about  Adam, Bree and Chase too don’t you?”

“Leo-”

“A little heads up would’ve been nice Donnie. I didn’t need much. A quick; beware the evil _bionic_ Marcus would have done the trick.”

“I-”

“He tried to kill me!”

“Look, I’m sorry for not telling you about Marcus,” Donnie paused with a deep breath, “Or the fact that I knew your siblings were bionic. I was just trying to be careful… there are things about me you don’t know, things I couldn’t tell you.”

“Things like what?”

Donnie was quiet for one moment, arms tightening and loosening for a moment before he spoke.

“There’s an abandoned building on the other side of town, it used to be a glue factory. Do you know it.”

“Yeah?”

Vaguely.

“Meet me there in two hours if you really want to know and I’ll tell you.”

Leo sighed in frustration, “Why can’t you just tell me right now?”

“There isn’t time and,” Donnie lowered his voice as he leaned down to the shorter teen’s ear, “My brothers can’t find out about this. It’s… between you and me.”

Leo ignored the shiver that ran down his spine. “Okay.”

“Good,” Donnie paused again, “In case I don’t get to say this later, I really missed talking to you and I really like you a lot.”

Leo flushed, “I-I like you too.”

Donnie chuckled softly, “Close your eyes, count to ten.”

Leo shut his eyes and started counting, but he had to open his eyes when he suddenly felt Donnie’s arms leave him and he turned around only to find himself alone seconds before the lights in the house went on.

The teen only stared with wide eyes both amazed and slightly terrified that the guy whose face he’s never seen and whose technically been stalking him for the past few months could slip in and out of his house so easily without raising any alarm.

He went back down stairs to the lab to find Chase and Big D huddled over the computer while Adam and Bree stood beside them. They were trying to figure out exactly what caused the sudden power outage but hadn’t managed to figure out what actually happened and Leo didn’t say a word, despite his better judgement. The entire situation was setting off some major alarm bells in his head and Leo was seriously considering the option of blowing Donnie off and not showing up at the abandoned factory. But his curiosity ended up winning out on him and he snuck out two hours later just after everyone else had gone to bed.

Which brings us back to Leo slinking around downtown Mission Creek.

An ice-cold breeze blew passed and Leo pulled his jacket even closer against his form. He let out a brief sigh when he noticed the building up ahead. The windows and doors looked boarded up Leo was at a loss for how he would even make it into the building when he noticed how one of the windows on the side wasn’t boarded up and the pane looked a little loose, standing slightly open and he walked towards it.

The slightest bit of light reached into the alley, Leo had to squint to see the trashcans beneath the window, trashcans that were obviously moved there on purpose if the fresh-looking drag marks leading to the trash were anything to go by. Those alarm bells were going off again but Leo ignored them as he pushed on, climbing up on top of the trash cans and pushed the window open to climb inside. He silently prayed that the old building didn’t still have an alarm or any other unwelcome surprises inside.

Leo neglected to think of what he’d need to climb down from the window on the inside and was pleasantly surprised when he landed on a crate right under the window. He climbed down to the floor and started looking around, but he couldn’t see much. Light leaked in through the windows near the ceilings to illuminate some of the beams near the ceiling. Leo walked by conveyer belts all along what he guessed was the production floor. Boxes were stacked up in one corner on the other side of the large room, Leo squinted at them as he stepped closer only to freeze when a voice suddenly spoke.

“You actually came.” 

Leo jumped, narrowly resisting the urge to scream and took a deep breath. “You told me to.”

“I didn’t think you would.”

It went quiet and Leo started walking again, looking up to start scanning the ceiling as he tried to pin point where Donnie might be.

“I really like you, you know.”

“Well, I mean, what’s not to like?” Leo said jokingly, he almost tripped over a wooden plank and bumped against the edge of some kind of table. Donnie laughed.

“There’s a lot I wanna tell you but I’m not sure how.”

“How about we start by getting some light in here.” The teen said rubbing his shin.

“Not yet.”

“Why not?”

“Leo I wasn’t completely honest with you.”

Leo paused, “What do you mean?”

“I mean… my brothers and I weren’t adopted, not exactly anyway.”

“Okay.”

“We weren’t adopted, it’s more like we were found.”

Leo frowned, “I don’t understand.”

“There was an accident when we were younger. It’s kind of the reason why we look the way we do, the reason I look the way I do.”

An accident.

This time Leo’s eyes went wide when the words finally sunk in. “Oh.”

“Yeah.”

Moments later the lights went on. Bright fluorescent light slowly filed the room and Leo blinked till his eyes adjusted. The building looked just the way he thought it would, faded white walls while production lines and conveyer belts lined up in the room. A cat walk that lined the room high up against the walls. He could see right up into the beams on the ceiling but no matter how long he looked he couldn’t see anyone up there.

The boy frowned when-

“You’re shorter than I thought you’d be.”

Leo immediately spun around at the voice that spoke behind him only for his eyes to go wide at what he saw.

A giant turtle.

A giant turtle with a purple bandanna and what looked like a huge stick strapped against his back.

“Leo?”

The next moment, Leo’s world went dark.

Donnie sighed as he looked down at the teen who’d passed out on the floor.

“That went better than I thought it would.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Leo just stared.

Donnie…

Donnie’s.

He screamed.

That was the first sound out of Leo’s mouth after he woke up and found a giant mutant turtle sitting beside him on the cot in one of the offices at the abandoned warehouse. He freaked out, because why wouldn’t he freak out after waking up to a giant reptile sitting beside him absently fiddling with his phone. And then the turtle spoke and Leo froze. It was the weirdest thing hearing Donnie, his crush’s voice, come out of the turtle’s mouth.

It was so weird he couldn’t do anything more than stare as Donnie tried to explain himself.

Donnie and his brothers were actual turtles, turned into mutant turtles after their owner some girl named April O’Neal accidentally lost them and they ended up in a sewer where they were exposed to chemical waste that turned them into humanoid turtles. They met a mutant rat named Splinter who was also coincidentally a martial arts master who taught them how to fight and now they live in the sewers and tunnels under New York city, fighting crime and keeping the city save against any catastrophic threats.

It was such an obscenely comic book like story that Leo wouldn’t believe it on any normal day, but that hadn’t been a normal day.

“You look just like your avatar on M.U.” Leo said just after Donnie finished explaining, it’s about the only response he could think of right at that moment.

Donnie let out a startled laugh, “Yeah, I figured it’d be… appropriate.”

“I-I just… You look incredible.”

That’s the truth. Donnie did look incredible, he looked unbelievable. Once Leo stopped freaking out and actually paused to really look at him, he didn’t look quite as frightening as he did at first. He was huge, probably more than twice Leo’s size with three fingers on each hand and three toes on each foot. He had dark green skin and wore a pair of shorts, there were some kind of high tech goggles on his head, with a purple bandanna that he wore like a mask over his eyes. The biggest thing though, the one thing Leo couldn’t get over surprisingly enough wasn’t the giant shell in Donnie’s back. It was Donnie’s eyes, they were surprisingly soft but actually fit well with the rest of him.

Nothing that he’s seen since his mother married Big D could have prepared him for this. Leo didn’t know what to think of that.

Donnie seemed to blink in surprise, “I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or-”

Donnie trailed off, Leo wasn’t exactly sure either.

“So this is why you didn’t want to see me.” Leo asked as he looked away and Donnie nodded.

“I wasn’t sure how you’d react.”

“I’m not sure how to react.” Leo said softly as he pulled his legs up against his chest and Donnie looked at him for a moment before he spoke.

“I get it, I know it’s a lot to take in and… I get that you might not be so comfortable around me anymore and-“

“No! I just-“

God, this is so awkward.

“I’m really really surprised, but I don’t.” Leo sighed, “I don’t want to lose you but, I’m not sure what to do either.”

Donnie’s head gave a tilt, “Do you need some time to think?”

“I’m not sure if thinking time would help.” Leo said with a weak laugh, “You actually look cool. I guess I just feel weird cause… I mean, I really liked you and I still like you. I think my head is just in a weird place.”

Donnie nodded, “I think you really do need some time to-”

“You have really nice eyes.” Leo suddenly said before he could stop himself and his cheeks flared with heat. The teen let his head rest on his knees and Donnie just stared at him in surprise before looking away.

“I thought you’d be scared of me.”

“I think I am, at least a little.”

“But-”

“But I don’t want this to end, whatever this is.”

“God this is confusing.”

“You’re telling me.”

Donnie chuckled and Leo looked up at him, “You said you looked like your brothers. So you all-”

“Yeah, but like I said Raph and Leo are a bit taller than me, Mikey’s a little shorter.”

Leo thought back to what happened on the beach, he thought of how cold he was even when ‘Leo’ pulled him close to try and help him warm him up. He was cold.

Leo stared at Donnie’s arm, only just noticing that the other wasn’t wearing a shirt, but it would probably difficult to wear a shirt with that shell of his. Suddenly overcome with the urge to reach out and touch the other, Leo’s hands clenched against his jeans. The teen let out a deep breath as he let his legs go and moved closer to Donnie.

The turtle looked startled for a brief moment at the sudden movement when he felt Leo’s hand on his arm.

“Leo-“

“You’re both cold.” Leo paused when he saw Donnie staring at him in confusion, “On the beach, _Leo_ was cold so I was just wondering-”

“We’re turtles, we’re cold blooded.” Donnie said carefully as he watched the teen’s hand run up his arm as he moved closer.

“This is really weird.” Leo said softly and Donnie’s eyes went wide as the teen moved so his hands moved along the turtles shoulders over his collar and down his chest. Donnie swallowed hard.

“A lot is weird right now.”

“I mean.” Leo’s hands ran back up to Donnie’s collar, over his neck up to his jaw. “I mean… I don’t know what I mean… did he give you my message?”

“What?”

“Your brother, I asked him to tell you something when you guys saved me earlier.”

Donnie cleared his throat, “I haven’t really talked to any of them since I saw you at your house.”

“Oh.” Leo whispered, “Well I guess I could just tell you myself.”

“What-“

Donnie cut himself off and he stared with wide eyes when Leo suddenly leaned in and kissed him, absolutely tense when the teen pressed his lips against his own and moved them ever so slightly before he pulled back and let out a deep breath.

Donnie just stared back.

“This is so weird.”

“Yeah.”

**Author's Note:**

> please review


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